Became Pregnant With the Demon King’s Child

Eunoh felt a hand gently ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) shaking him awake. The touch was so careful, almost more like a pat, that he didn’t feel any urge to open his eyes.
“Young Master, it’s time to wake up.”
The touch itself didn’t carry much intent to rouse him, but the high-pitched voice was clearly laced with anxiety. That was enough to make tension flood all the way up to Eunoh’s scalp.

Given that Eunoh lived alone, waking to someone else’s touch was a perfectly valid reason to panic. He shot upright in a fright, and the first thing that met his eyes was the warm sunlight. What followed was a high-quality comforter—and a stranger staring at him.
“Oh my, you woke up right away. I haven’t even brought the wash water yet. You must be feeling well today.”
“Huh?”

“You’ve been looking forward to tonight’s welcome party for the Grand Duke, haven’t you? You even said you wanted to see for yourself whether the infamous Grand Duke Felix truly has a hideous face, just as the rumors claim.”
Eunoh looked back and forth between the woman in a maid uniform and the reflection of himself in the window. The faint image of a handsome young man with dazzling blond hair and jewel-like blue eyes shimmered faintly in the glass.
Eunoh mentally recited the 17-times table in reverse, something he often did to check his lucidity—and, as usual, he completed the calculation perfectly. If he could process complex arithmetic, this couldn’t be a dream. Which meant, more than likely, that the person reflected in the window… was him.

“Young Master Lowell, are you still sleepy?”
The woman looked at Eunoh, who sat there with a dazed, confused face, and gently assumed he just hadn’t fully woken up yet. But Eunoh only felt more lost upon hearing the name she used to address him.
“Grand Duke Felix… Are you talking about the emperor’s nephew?”

Eunoh instinctively began speaking in honorifics, a habit of his, but just barely managed to correct himself before finishing the sentence.
“Who else would it be? He’s the one born with the Curse of Darkness.”
Her voice dropped noticeably at the end, as if even uttering the phrase might bring disaster if overheard. Eunoh let his head hang in response to the ominous explanation.

“Oh dear, don’t doze off while sitting up. Would you rather sleep a bit more?”
Rather than wanting to sleep, Eunoh honestly just wanted to pass out. His golden hair glowed even more vividly under the sun. No doubt remained—“Felix” and “Lowell” were characters from the novel How the Alpha Crown Prince Loves, which he’d read just a few days ago. He weighed the odds that someone had performed plastic surgery and bleached his hair while he slept, then dumped him onto a drama set—against the chance that he’d somehow transmigrated into the book. After running through the possibilities, the latter began to seem more plausible.
“No… I should wash up first.”

“I’ll get everything ready right away.”
“Thanks. Tanya.”
Eunoh spoke the maid’s name, which had come to him in a vague flash of memory. He’d been worried about getting it wrong, but Tanya simply beamed and replied with a cheerful “Of course,” then stepped outside.
The moment she left, Eunoh rushed to the dressing room. Even that short distance was enough to leave him stumbling—his body lacked the strength it once had. It was nothing like the sturdy, well-trained body he’d built through regular exercise.

“Is this really me?”
When he examined himself in the full-length mirror, the body reflected back wasn’t just a rough match—it was a perfect likeness to the Lowell described in the novel, down to his frame, his features, his hair color, even his body hair. The phrase “a lovely young man, as if soaked in honey” sprang unbidden to mind. But instead of panicking or trembling, Eunoh methodically retraced the steps of what had led him here.
Last month, after clearing out his desk at the school where he’d worked, his life had grown dull. After being outed by an ex, he knew he couldn’t find new employment until the gossip died down. So, he’d started reading web novels—something he’d never paid attention to before.

One day, he’d suddenly received a coupon for a set of books via email. Thinking it was just some platform perk, he’d clicked the link without much thought—and found himself with the full series of How the Alpha Crown Prince Loves. It was his first romance novel, but the fantasy element made it an easy read.
It hadn’t taken long for him to realize it was a BL novel. Still, it was free, and he had a compulsive need to finish anything he started, so he read it to the end.
‘And it was actually pretty entertaining.’

After going through such a god-awful breakup, he’d probably been craving a glimpse into someone else’s fantastical love story.
‘Lowell was one of the fragile supporting characters, wasn’t he?’
In the original story, Lowell is killed at the beginning of Volume 2 by Felix, who later becomes the Demon King. Had more time passed, he might’ve forgotten the character existed altogether.

‘So I’ve transmigrated, huh. I read too many web novels and now I’m in one?’
Eunoh, who’d always believed he had nothing in common with protagonists, let out a bitter laugh and lightly tapped the mirror. It was unbelievable—but if this were just a dream, he’d have woken up already.
‘How do I get back to reality?’

He stared deeply into his unfamiliar reflection and let out a long sigh. He tried to think of a way to escape this absurd situation, but no solution came to mind. After all, there was no explanation for why he’d transmigrated—so it made sense that there was no clear way to undo it.
Feeling stuck, Eunoh weighed the current situation against his old life.
‘Is there even anything worth going back to?’

He’d lost his family in an accident years ago, and his ex hadn’t just betrayed him—he’d outed him on top of that. Eunoh had been stabbed in the back plenty of times before, but never like this.
“My life was already going nowhere. Starting a new one doesn’t sound so bad.”
He quickly shed any lingering attachment to his former world. Faced with an unbelievable new reality, his sense of realism had crumbled, but his adaptability kicked in.

“First, I need to figure out what point in the story this is.”
With no electronics—no phone, no laptop—his only option was to make guesses based on limited information.
‘A welcome party for Grand Duke Felix… That means we’re still in the early stages. There’s still time before he becomes the Demon King.’

Felix gradually succumbs to dark magic after killing Lowell, eventually becoming the Demon King. Eunoh stepped away from the mirror and returned to the room. Tanya hadn’t returned yet.
“I’ve got to survive, at least.”
First and foremost, he needed to stay alive. And for that, he had to stop Felix from becoming the Demon King.

‘Guess it’s time to demonstrate the butterfly effect.’
He planned to put his skills as a mental health counselor to use—correct Felix’s behavior and steer him away from his tragic fate. After that, he could just enjoy the life of a pampered youngest son in a wealthy family.
“Young Master, the bath is ready.”

Tanya had returned and called out to Lowell.
“All right.”
Tonight’s party would be the key.

‘I’ll need to get used to being called Lowell, too.’
He felt a bit bad, like he’d stolen someone else’s place—but it was better than being dead.
‘Then... did the original Lowell end up in my body?’

Lowell shook his head. First things first—he had to deal with what was right in front of him.
The party, dressed up with all the expected trappings, was every bit as extravagant as one might expect. As Lowell scanned the hall, he didn’t miss the black ribbons tied to various floral arrangements. They were a not-so-subtle jab at Felix, the dark-attribute mage. In the original story, only the clueless, harmless Lowell failed to notice their true meaning.
He was so naive that he once tried to win Felix’s attention by picking up a black ribbon and offering it to him, saying it suited him. The scary part was—he’d done it with no malice at all.

‘No wonder Felix put a target on him.’
Arriving a little late to the party, Lowell sipped champagne and surveyed the room. Plenty of people offered him greetings as they passed, and a few Alpha-looking types hovered nearby, clearly wanting to strike up a conversation. Lowell was keenly aware of their presence but did his best to avoid eye contact and pretend he didn’t notice.
“You look as stunning as ever tonight. Not even a rose could compete with your beauty.”

“Thank you. Would you excuse me for just a moment?”
Some of the bolder ones tried flirting outright, but Lowell immediately excused himself, making his disinterest crystal clear. The one he was waiting for hadn’t shown up, and all he was attracting were unwanted advances—his patience was wearing thin.
Just when he was about to collapse into a chair from exhaustion, the doors finally opened. A man dressed in black with gold trim strode into the hall. Each step echoed across the room, drawing all attention toward him. His overwhelming beauty and the sheer pressure of his presence made even Lowell—who had been mentally prepared—take an involuntary step back.

‘Was the original owner of this body brave, or just stupid?’
Lowell revised his opinion of his predecessor as he watched Felix approach the Crown Prince, his cousin, to offer a formal greeting. The Emperor and Empress hadn’t bothered to attend at all.
‘So much for appearances.’

Though the party was held in his honor, Felix barely exchanged a few words with some nobles before standing alone. It was clear he wanted nothing more than to leave. The seat prepared for him may have looked special, but it was really meant to isolate him.
“Guess the Emperor really does hate him. Then again, that ominous black aura…”
“For someone hailed as a war hero, this treatment is disgraceful. They sent him to the battlefield at fourteen hoping he’d die, but when he kept winning, he just became a bigger problem.”

Lowell heard the whispered gossip and shook his head with a bitter smile.
‘This kind of environment would break anyone. It’s a miracle he didn’t snap sooner.’
Recalling the countless troubled students he’d counseled in his old life, Lowell concluded Felix was actually a pretty mild case. Just as he was preparing to approach, ignoring the crowd’s scrutiny, he saw Felix raise a glass with a bored expression.

‘He can’t drink that.’
The champagne on Felix’s table had been drugged by one of the Emperor’s inner circle. Once he drank it, Felix would lose control of his magic and injure several nobles—including the child of one of his few allies. That incident would sever even his last remaining connections and drive him further into isolation.
‘I won’t let that happen.’

Lowell broke into a near sprint toward him. Just as Felix brought the glass to his lips, the orchestra swelled into its climax.
“You can’t drink that.”